2015 remastered version of Alga Marghen's 2010 reissue of the Sonnabend Gallery's 1974 limited edition double LP. Presented in digipak sleeve with full-color 12-page booklet including two essays, originals score, and visual materials relating to the composition. Alga Marghen presents the fifth installment of its Golden ResearchCharlemagne Palestine archive series: Four Manifestations On Six Elements, one of Palestine's most well-known works. In 1973 the Sonnabend Gallery in New York commissioned Palestine to make Four Manifestations On Six Elements. "Two Perfect Fifths, a Major Third Apart, Reinforced Twice" (1973) is an electronic piece that deals with the search for the essence of timbre -- sound color -- through exploration of the inert chemical activity in the overtone series of tone fundamentals. This genre of Palestine's work is akin to a kind of sound alchemy, blending elements over and over again in search of the Golden Sound: the essence of the chord or harmonic structure itself. In "One + Two + Three Perfect Fifths, in the Rhythm 3 Against 2, for Piano" (1973), Palestine uses the resonant Bösendorfer piano to create a more lively and complex variation of tones, intervals, overtones, and rhythms. "One Fifth" evolves by reinforcing the fundamentals of a fifth with their higher octave. Each performance of this work is different, as Palestine reinterprets these simple elements and listens within them for variations of amplitude, mixture, and inertia at the moment of the performance. "One + Two Fifths" deals with the way a rhythmic sonority sounds when the sustain pedal of the piano is not used, thus focusing on its rhythmic aspect. Gradually, by adding the sustain pedal, the external rhythmic pattern begins to internalize, becoming an inert part of the whole timbral fabric -- a piece expressing the struggle for dominance between rhythm and timbre. In "One + Two + Three" a third fifth is added -- variations of melody and sonority reinforcements culminating in a rhythmic deceleration process. "Sliding Fifths for Piano" (1972) is an impressionistic version of the three fifths used in the entire work. The continuous liquid waterfall of pure romantic piano sound and color is an homage to Debussy, Ravel, and Monet. "Three Perfect Fifths, a Major Second Apart, Reinforced Twice" (1973) is the complexification and continuation of track one. A pure and sonorous phenomenon.

Presented in tri-fold digipak sleeve. Alga Marghen presents the "sixSIXsix"th installment of its Golden ResearchCharlemagne Palestine archive series: CharleBelllzzz at Saint Thomas. These previously unreleased recordings of Palestine's "Bells Studies" are both some of his earliest recordings and some of his darkest and most accomplished works. In 1963, while attending The High School of Music & Art in New York, the 15-year-old Palestine was asked if he'd be interested in playing a 26-bell carillon at the St. Thomas Episcopal Church. He decided that he loved the voluptuous Taylor bells, and played them every day from 1963 to 1970, when he left New York to study and teach at CalArts. During his time high above 53rd Street and 5th Avenue, accessible only by a spiral staircase, Palestine became known as the Quasimodo of midtown NYC, and his dissonant and "klanggdedangggebannggg" style of playing attracted a diverse group of fans, from Moondog to John Cage to Tony Conrad, among others. Palestine was able to continue playing his clanging-bell soap operas for seven years, dinggdonggingggg every late afternoon and Sunday mornings. "Bells Carillon" and "St Thomas Bells," both recorded at unidentified dates between 1966 and 1968, are maximal-bells-pure-resonating frontal attacks, building up in a structure that anticipates the later Strumming campaigns (SR 297CD). Unique and clashing dissonances created like an instinctive, spontaneous outburst. Palestine played the bells right next to his body. The sounds became physical, visceral; each crack of the clapper was like a small earthquake.

Edition of 400 copies. Includes original photos from the recording sessions. High up in a tower, accessible only by a spiral staircase that led to a concrete platform above the whole city, Charlemagne Palestine's "HellsBells" became the sonic mainstay of 53rd Street and 5th Avenue, NYC, from 1963 to 1970. In 1963, while attending The High School of Music & Art in New York, the 15-year-old Palestine was asked if he'd be interested in playing a 26-bell carillon at the St. Thomas Episcopal Church. He decided that he loved the voluptuous Taylor bells, and played them every day from 1963 to 1970, when he left New York to study and teach at CalArts. During his time above 53rd and 5th, Palestine became known as the Quasimodo of midtown NYC, and his dissonant and "klanggdedangggebannggg" style of playing attracted a diverse group of fans, from Moondog to John Cage to Tony Conrad, among others. Palestine was able to continue playing his clanging-bell soap operas for seven years, dinggdonggingggg every late afternoon and Sunday mornings. This LP collects some of the most relevant recordings from those early days. Side A presents the complete reel-tape "Bells Studies," an intense, pulsating work in five movements. It begins with slow, hypnotic, large sonorities and accelerates into more dense and maximal explosions. Side B collects some shorter studies: "Bells," the two parts of "Confiscated Bell Tape," and an excerpt from "Dumb Bell Tape." Each track was recorded by the composer in single takes around 1965 and unheard since, until now.

2004 release. Special edition of Sacred Bordello (originally published by Black Dog Publishing) bundled with a limited edition CD released by Alga Marghen. As one of the most influential figures of experimental music and performance, Charlemagne Palestine has remained an enigma. Unlike his illustrious contemporaries Terry Riley, John Cale, Steve Reich, and Phillip Glass, little has been written on Palestine and his continuing influence. In his own right, he was and remains today a pivotal personality whose research in musical composition and performance has been characterized over the years by its incantatory repetitiveness, its flamboyance, and its mysticism, but also by its violence. Born in Brooklyn in 1947, his first musical experiences were as a cantorial singer in the synagogues of New York. Through his contact with Tony Conrad, Palestine was soon introduced to the thriving experimental art scene of the late 1960s. The circles around Andy Warhol and La Monte Young provided a crucial backdrop for Palestine's work, which increasingly extended beyond the scope of music. His groundbreaking appearances, which combined violent piano playing, performance, video, and installation, were considered to be amongst the most radical musical experiences, leaving a lasting impression on followers such as Arto Lindsay, Glenn Branca, Sonic Youth, and the Sex Pistols, as well as Tintin creator Hergé. Palestine's epic durations, microtonal trembles, and dense overtones are reoccurring features in contemporary industrial and electronic music. Sacred Bordello is a flexi-cover sewn, full color, 192-page, 11" x 9" book that includes essays, scores, and original photos of performances and installations, providing the most complete documentation of Charlemagne Palestine's art. The included CD features an hour-long recording of a lecture that Palestine gave on March 7th, 1975 at the ArtNow Centre in Canada. Following the performance of a strumming music concert, Palestine freely speaks about his music and philosophy, involving the students in some kind of magic ritual. Starting as a question-and-answer conversation, the lecture develops into an intimate speech in which particularly private subjects are discussed. The CD also includes a previously unreleased multi-layer voice study from the early 1960s.

One of Charlemagne Palestine's most well-known works, Four Manifestations on Six Elements is presented here as 2LP record edition limited to 120 numbered copies pressed into white vinyl. The gatefold sleeve is silkscreened in one color and presents the original score from 1970. In 1973 Charlemagne Palestine was commissioned to make Four Manifestations on Six Elements by the Sonnabend Gallery in New York. As the gallery was well-known for its presentation of conceptual art, Palestine decided to create a record similar to an exhibition space with four walls to expose on, each wall corresponding to a side on a double LP record. "Two Perfect Fifths, A Major Third Apart, Reinforced Twice" (1973) is an electronic piece that deals with the search for the essence of timbre, sound color, through exploration of the inert chemical activity in the overtone series of tone fundamentals. In this genre of his work Palestine feels akin to a kind of sound alchemy -- blending elements over and over again through the years searching for the Golden Sound - the essence of the chord or harmonic structure itself. In "One + Two + Three Perfect Fifths, In The Rhythm 3 Against 2, for Piano" (1973) the elements introduced are now elaborated upon on the piano. The resonant Bosendorfer allows Palestine to create a more lively and complex variation of tones, intervals, overtones and rhythms. "One Fifth" evolves by reinforcing the fundamentals of a fifth with their higher octave. Each performance of this work is different as Palestine reinterprets these simple elements listening within them for variations of amplitude, mixture and inertia at the moment of the performance. "One + Two Fifths" deals with the way a rhythmic sonority sounds when the sustain pedal of the piano in not used, thus focusing on its rhythmic aspect. Gradually by adding the sustain pedal the external rhythmic pattern begins to internalize becoming an inert part of the whole timbral fabric -- a piece expressing the battle of rhythm versus timbre for dominance. In "One + Two + Three" a third fifth is added -- variations of melody and sonority reinforcements culminating in a rhythmic deceleration process ending the work. "Sliding Fifths for Piano" (1972) is an impressionistic version of the three fifths used in the entire work. The continuous liquid waterfall of pure romantic piano sound and color is an homage to Debussy, Ravel and Monet. "Three Perfect Fifths, A Major Second Apart, Reinforced Twice" (1973) is the continuation of wall one. A pure and sonorous phenomenon.

Originally released in 2000. The Golden Research is the name chosen for the complete documentation of previously unpublished works by Charlemagne Palestine starting from the early 1960s to the mid-late 1970s. Such a huge project will include seminal collage and electronic music, Bell Studies, New York and California drones, piano drones as well as more specific compositions. All the recordings will be exclusively available through Alga Marghen. Be ready to change your own opinion about minimalism and music in general? Holy1 and Holy2 were both recorded in NYC in 1967. Charlemagne Palestine was listening to a lot of ethnic world music; he was also immersed in the late night New York soundscape, absorbing the spatial sound diversity and beauty that such a big city could only express very late at night. He also worked at night building up a sound, oscillator by oscillator; then adding tiny increments of white noise that would gradually make the sounds thicker and thicker until they were immense sacred machines humming like gargantuan Tibetan bees. The sounds were played very, very loud, making all the objects in the room resonate, while outside all was quiet and sleeping. Holy1 & Holy2 were done this way. Then, in 1969, Tony Conrad asked Charlemagne Palestine to make some carillon music for his film Coming Attractions. They were seeing each other regularly when the Free Music Store of radio station WBAI asked Palestine to create a piece for an event they were preparing to broadcast live on radio. So he asked Tony, his saxophonist Bob Feldman and his then-wife and soprano Deborah Glaser to collaborate on a work that he would organize around an instrument that he invented at that time called an Alumonium. Tony Conrad played an instrument that he invented, the Long String Drone, that was a long string attached to a long wooden structure and amplified. Bob played the chimes and a conch. Deborah sang and played chimes and Charlemagne sang, also played the chimes and some percussion instruments that they found lying around the hall where they played. The piece became Alloy and the sound used as an all-electronic background continuum, played through loudspeakers in the hall, were Holy1+2 from 1968. Digipak CD edition with folded insert and liner notes.

Originally released in 2003. The first electronically generated sounds that Charlemagne Palestine ever heard came from the machines he encountered in ordinary daily urban life. Machines like the refrigerator electric motor, or electrical generators; but it was especially the sounds of motion (race cars, motorcycles, war planes, rocket ships) that first excited his sonic imagination as a young teenager. Then he heard the electronic music of Tod Dockstader, Pierre Henry and Pierre Schaeffer, the famous "Podme Electronique" of Varèse, Xenakis and "Gesang der Junglinge" of Stockhausen. He immediately reacted buying a cheap reel-to-reel tape recorder, cutting and pasting recording tape and making collage sound experiments. Then, one day, Charlemagne Palestine experienced at an electronic music studio what electronically produced sound waves looked and sounded like through an oscilloscope and he began studying Helmholtz's On the Sensation of Tone. He started dreaming of an expressive, continuous, ever-moving, ever-changing sound form; an enormous sonorous, 3-dimensional sculptural canvas in mid-air using electronically produced sounds. The first experiments were done with simple sine tone generators emitting the purest sound waves without any overtones. With access to more complex systems, the sound was constructed using the sine/sawtooth/square wave oscillators in a fluid, ever-changing mix of adding or filtering overtones and white noise to create sonorities, constantly changing timbres, and weight. Five early electronic compositions including "Sine Tone Study" (1967); "Open Closing" (1968), created through speed alterations of "Holy 1+2"; "Seven Organism Study" (1968); "Negative Sound Study" (1969) and "Timbral for Pran Nath" (1970). Late night electronic sonorities created on the Buchlas 100 & 200 systems available at the New York University Intermedia Centre. All compositions previously-unreleased. 3-folded digipak cover with original photos and liner notes written by the composer.

2008 release. Alga Marghen proudly presents a new chapter in the documentation series of Charlemagne Palestine's historical works. This CD of previously-unavailable recordings not only presents you Charlemagne Palestine activities in 1974, collaborating with some of most important experimental artists and composers from either the New York loft scene and Cal Arts, but also features world premiere recordings of Terry Jennings and The Fundamental D Flat Group. "Short & Sweet" is the title of a breathtaking duo for piano and sax performed on April 24th by Charlemagne Palestine and Terry Jennings. The two composers happened to play together in very private concerts at Cal Arts, but never recorded those sessions, until a special day when Charlemagne happened to have a little tape recorder around. The recording was considered lost for more than 30 years, when finally a copy was found thanks to Tony Conrad. Terry Jennings' soprano sax is very elaborated and decorative. Around 1967, Charlemagne was experimenting mainly with voice and electronics. He also occasionally recorded piano and sax improvisations with his friend Bob Feldman. This CD featured a very special duo by Palestine and Feldman playing electronics and flute. The two artists met in 1961 when Bob Feldman worked in a jazz record shop in the Times Square subway station. Palestine didn't know much about jazz and Feldman guided him through the new progressive jazz styles of the times. Later at the Intermedia Center of NYU where they had a Buchla synthesizer, Charlemagne and Bob Feldman experimented with jazz raga and electronics. Very little was recorded. This is one rare duet that dates probably from around 1967. The last track on this CD is the first 30 minutes of a recording from April 22, 1974 by The Fundamental D Flat Group performing in Db. During one trip back to NYC from Cal Arts, Charlemagne Palestine was invited by Tony Conrad (together with Rhys Chatham) to Albright College in New Jersey for a Sunday afternoon concert. That was the first and last time The Fundamental D Flat Group played in public (Tony Conrad : violin, horn, string drone; Rhys Chatham: flute, organ, string drone; Charlemagne Palestine: voice, pipes, snifter). Although the piece lasted all afternoon, the first 30 minutes were the only portion recorded during the performance. The Fundamental D Flat Group invites you to listen and meditate in the mode of Db. To hear this is to enter the deepest realm of knowledge of the sound current. This CD is housed in a beautiful digipack with a full-color sleeve with photos and liner notes. The edition presents some of the best recordings ever issued by Charlemagne Palestine, a highlight in the Alga Marghen catalog and a unique chance to listen to the core of Charlemagne Palestine.

One of Charlemagne Palestine's most well-known works, Four Manifestations on Six Elements is presented here as a 2LP record edition limited to 180 numbered copies, the first publication of Algamars, the new sonic art division of Alga Marghen. The gatefold sleeve is silkscreened in one color and presents a signed drawing by Charlemagne Palestine on the front cover. In 1973 Charlemagne Palestine was commissioned to make Four Manifestations on Six Elements by the Sonnabend Gallery in New York. As the gallery was well known for its presentation of conceptual art, Palestine decided to create a record similar to an exhibition space with four walls to expose on, each wall corresponding to a side on a double LP record. "Two Perfect Fifths, a Major Third Apart, Reinforced Twice" (1973) is an electronic piece that deals with the search for the essence of timbre and sound color, through exploration of the inert chemical activity in the overtone series of tone fundamentals. In this genre of his work Palestine feels akin to a kind of sound alchemist -- blending elements over and over again through the years searching for the "Golden Sound" -- the essence of the chord or harmonic structure itself. In "One + Two + Three Perfect Fifths, in the Rhythm 3 Against 2, for Piano" (1973) the elements introduced are now elaborated upon on the piano. The resonant Bösendorfer allows Palestine to create a more lively and complex variation of tones, intervals, overtones and rhythms. "One Fifth" evolves by reinforcing the fundamentals of a fifth with their higher octave. Each performance of this work is different as Palestine reinterprets these simple elements listening within them for variations of amplitude, mixture and inertia at the moment of the performance. "One + Two Fifths" deals with the way a rhythmic sonority sounds when the sustain pedal of the piano in not used, thus focusing on its rhythmic aspect. Gradually by adding the sustain pedal, the external rhythmic pattern begins to internalize, becoming an inert part of the whole timbral fabric -- a piece expressing the battle of rhythm versus timbre for dominance. In "One + Two + Three" a third fifth is added -- variations of melody and sonority reinforcements culminating in a rhythmic deceleration process ending the work. "Sliding Fifths for Piano" (1972) is an impressionistic version of the three fifths used in the entire work. The continuous liquid waterfall of pure romantic piano sound and color is an homage to Debussy, Ravel and Monet. "Three Perfect Fifths, a Major Second Apart, Reinforced Twice" (1973) is the continuation of wall one. A pure and sonorous phenomenon. Edition limited to 180 signed and numbered copies in a silkscreened gatefold sleeve, with an original drawing by Charlemagne Palestine on the front cover.

Privately issued by the artist in collaboration with Alga Marghen, Running and Chanting and Falling and Ranting is quite a unique book presenting images from Charlemagne Palestine's complete video productions. "Body Music I" (1973) and "Body Music II" (1974) were Palestine's first incursions into the video medium. They were followed, from 1974 until 1979, by a series of works that together form one of the seminal and most distinctive bodies of conceptual, performance-driven video of that decade. As a composer, performer and visual artist, Palestine has gained international recognition for his influential music, sound compositions and performances across six decades. His psychodramatic video works of the 1970s, which are less well known, transform and extend his sound and performance art into the electronic medium. Throughout these pieces, Palestine activates ritualistic movements and vocal expressions (hypnotic chants, screams, keening wails) as outward articulations of interior states. The very titles of these fervent enactments suggest extreme physical and psychological catharses, release and escape. Palestine's video works of the 1970s are visceral, raw, urgent. While his video works must be seen in dialogue with Palestine's music and performances (his signature objects like stuffed animals, cognac, and scarves appear across media), they also speak to the specific conditions of early video art practices and the wider alternative art scene and countercultural sensibility of the era. Palestine's unruly, unpredictable performance videos emerged in the context of an equally unruly and unpredictable landscape of art-making in the 1970s. As art practices moved away from object-making towards an emphasis on process, the prevailing discourses of conceptual art and post-Minimalism were manifested in the dematerialized gestures of Body Art and performance, and in hybrid forms such as installation, experimental music, expanded cinema, intermedia art, and video. The nascent video art scene was further cross-pollinated with generative ideas and influences that ranged from technology and television to cybernetic theory and political activism. The presiding spirit was one of experimentation, ad hoc and collective processes, and improvisation, a renegade ethos tracked in the decade's underground art from counterculture to punk. The book includes an essay by Lori Zippay titled Body Music: Charlemagne Palestine's Video Rituals, a long interview by Serpentine Gallery director Hans Ulrich Obrist as well as a CD with the full soundtracks of "Body Music I," "Body Music II," "Island Song," "Running Outburst" and "Tying Myself Up." 254 color pages, A4 size. Co-release with Filipson Editions.